Springing forward and falling back may soon be a thing of the past in Maine if lawmakers advance either of the proposals introduced by Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford).

While one bill would allow the state to observe Eastern Standard Time (EST) year round, the other would establish Daylight Savings Time (DST) as the official setting for the state’s clock, pending federal approval. DST refers to the time setting adopted by most states in the spring, when clocks are set an hour ahead.

Right now, Mainers — like Americans in most U.S. states, with the exclusion of Hawaii, parts of Arizona, and the U.S. territories — are change their clocks twice a year in March and November.

Historically, the concept of daylight savings traces back to Germany during World War I when it was adopted as a means of energy conservation: more daylight meant less fuel use.

Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the federal government mandated the use of DST nationwide. Although states may opt out of using DST, they are not allowed to use DST year round.

As of 2019, Maine Law says that the state would adopt DST full-time if it were permitted by the federal government and the rest of the Eastern Time Zone did the same.

Sen. Bennett’s LD 3 would repeal the requirement that the Eastern Time Zone would need to be in unanimous agreement for Maine to use DST year round should the federal government amend the law to allow for this.

LD 4, on the other hand, would simply opt Maine out of using DST altogether.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that currently opt out of DST and have both been doing so since the 1960s.

Hawaii rationalizes this because the schedule disruption caused by DST would be unnecessary given that their proximity to the equator allows for adequate sunlight throughout the year, while Arizona has cited the state’s hot temperatures and desert climate as a reason for avoiding the extra hours of sunlight.

Nationwide, ending the practice of changing the clocks enjoys substantial popularity, with 62 percent of Americans supporting the elimination of these twice-yearly time changes, according to a 2023 YouGov poll.

One of the cosponsors of these bill, Rep. Chris Kessler (D-South Portland), said that he “can’t believe we are still doing this,” suggesting that the only major arguments against moving away from changing the clocks — primarily from broadcasters and advertisers — “sound like ancient history.”

Rep. Kessler also highlighted the “negative health impacts” from changing the clocks back and forth every six months.

Jay Pea, President of Save Standard Time, testified in support of making EST permanent, suggesting that this represents a “natural clock” where 12pm roughly correlates to “high noon.”

He went on to argue, however, that adopting DST year round would be “worse than the status quo,” chronically depriving Mainers of sleep and mandating people “to wake an hour early all winter in cold darkness.”

A representative of the University of Maine System offered background information on the proposals, highlighting the findings of a study produced last year at the request of the 131st Legislature.

Among the 72 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by the University who were in favor of ditching the twice-annual time change, 75 percent wanted the state to permanently switch to DST.

It was also noted that “even small changes in circadian misalignment are linked to adverse health outcomes, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a regular circadian rhythm.”

The University also found that 65 percent of the state’s total domestic imports and 63.5 percent of its domestic exports are in the EST zone.

In the weeks to come, lawmakers on the Committee for State and Local Government will continue to consider these proposals that, if approved, could allow Mainers to move away from changing their clocks every few months for good.